The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 10 : Conservation and Development

Chapter 053 : Beverage Containers; Deposit-Redemption System

• § 1532. Stewardship plan; minimum requirements

  (a) Plan elements. On or before April 1, 2028, an approved producer responsibility organization shall submit a stewardship plan to the Secretary. A stewardship plan shall, at a minimum, meet all of the following requirements of this section:

  (1) Convenience of collection.

  (A) A plan shall ensure that consumers have convenient opportunities to redeem beverage containers. The plan shall take reasonable efforts to site points of redemption equitably across all regions of the State to allow for convenient and reasonable access of all Vermonters to redemption opportunities. A plan shall document how redemption services will be available to consumers as follows:

  (i) at least three points of redemption per county, at least one of which provides an immediate return of a deposit to a consumer;

  (ii) at least one point of redemption per municipality with a population of 7,000 or more persons that provides an immediate return of a deposit to a consumer unless the Secretary determines that requiring an immediate return of deposit would create an impediment to effective redemption under the plan; and

  (iii) how sites of redemption are or will be sited in areas with high population density or located in centers designated under 24 V.S.A. chapter 76A.

  (B) The producer responsibility organization may propose in its plan to remove retail redemption locations required by subdivision 1523(a)(2) of this title. When proposing to remove these retail locations, the producer responsibility organization shall document how the location is adequately served by other points of redemption. The Secretary shall not approve any reduction that reduces the points of redemption below the levels required under subdivisions (A)(i) and (ii) of this subdivision (a)(1). The Secretary may require additional points of redemption based on the location of proposed or existing points of redemption, shopping patterns, and the convenience of redeeming beverage containers.

  (C) The producer responsibility organization may not use only single-feed reverse vending machines or only mobile points of redemption as the point of redemption to satisfy the requirement under subdivision (A)(i) of this subdivision (a)(1) except where the producer responsibility organization documents that the population and retail density of the county is adequately served by the use of these forms of collection.

  (D) The producer responsibility organization shall ensure that points of redemption have the operational capacity to redeem beverage containers. This includes training on the use of equipment, providing service of equipment in a reasonable time if there are issues, and providing pick-up of collected containers from the point of redemption in a reasonable period from receiving a request.

  [Subdivision (a)(2)(A) effective until July 1, 2030; see also subdivision (a)(2)(A) effective July 1, 2030, set out below.]

  (2) Fair operation and compensation to redemption centers. The plan shall satisfy all of the following requirements:

  (A) The plan shall describe how all locations that redeem beverage containers are fairly compensated for their participation in the collection program provided that the producer responsibility organization shall pay each location that redeems beverage containers:

  (i) four and one-half cents per container for all other means of redemption at a location; or

  (ii) according to a separate compensation agreement negotiated between a redemption location or a group of redemption locations that redeems beverage containers and the producer responsibility organization.

  [Subdivision (a)(2)(A) effective July 1, 2030; see also subdivision (a)(2)(A) effective until July 1, 2030, set out above.]

  (A) The plan shall describe how all locations that redeem beverage containers are fairly compensated for their participation in the collection program. The producer responsibility organization and a redemption location or groups of redemption locations shall negotiate how the redemption location or locations shall be compensated for collection of containers under the plan.

  (B) There shall not be barriers to the participation in the collection program for a redemption center, except for restrictions that are authorized by the Secretary.

  (C) The plan shall describe how management and sorting of containers at points of redemption is minimized. The plan shall document how brand sorting will be eliminated at points of redemption.

  (D) The plan shall describe how materials will be picked up from points of redemption on a timely basis.

  (E) The plan shall maximize the use of existing infrastructure, when establishing points of redemption under subdivision (1) of this subsection (a).

  (F) Consistent with guidelines developed by the Secretary, the producer responsibility organization shall use binding dispute resolution to resolve any disputes that arise surrounding negotiation of separate compensation agreements between the producer responsibility organization and points of redemption. This process shall be implemented using a neutral third-party decision maker agreed to by all parties.

  (G) After the plan is effective for two years and six months, the producer responsibility organization shall submit a report on fair compensation to the Secretary. The report shall either describe how the producer responsibility organization has adjusted compensation for points of redemption or document why such an adjustment is not necessary.

  (3) Redemption amount. The producer responsibility organization or a point of redemption operating under the plan shall pay a person presenting a beverage container for redemption the refund value of the beverage container as established by section 1522 of this title.

  (4) Collection location standards. All locations that provide for redemption of beverage containers shall:

  (A) provide timely redemption services that limit the need for persons redeeming containers to wait for redemption services;

  (B) be at sites that are secure, sufficiently lighted, and managed to ensure the safety of persons redeeming containers at a location;

  (C) be open and accepting beverage containers:

  (i) in the case of a fixed point of redemption, at least 35 hours per week, including six consecutive hours on Saturday; or

  (ii) in the case of a mobile point of redemption, at least 15 hours per week, including at least four consecutive hours on Saturday; and

  (D) comply with all applicable laws related to the collection, transportation, and disposition of mandated recyclables.

  (5) Education to consumers. The plan shall describe what education efforts will be undertaken to increase the number of beverage containers redeemed in the State.

  (6) Consultation with stakeholders. The producer responsibility organization shall consult with stakeholders on the development of the plan. The plan shall include processes for regular consultation, which shall take place not less than annually, with stakeholders, including the Agency, redemption centers, municipal and private recycling organizations, bag drop and reverse vending technology providers, and other stakeholders. Prior to submitting a proposed plan to the Agency, the producer responsibility organization shall allow the public to comment on the proposed plan. The producer responsibility organization shall either make changes in response to those comments or provide a written response on why the change was not made to the stakeholders and the Agency.

  (7) The Agency shall publish the proposed and final approved plan on the Agency’s website.

  (b) Reporting. At a frequency required by the Secretary but not less than annually, the producer responsibility organization shall report the following to the Secretary:

  (1) the name, address, and business hours of each redemption center participating in the approved stewardship plan and the number of redemption centers added to or removed from the plan over the preceding year;

  (2) the amount, in containers and tons, and material type of beverage containers redeemed under the plan and the redemption rate of beverage containers;

  (3) the location and amount of beverage container material that was recycled and what products that beverage container material was recycled into;

  (4) the carbon impacts associated with the administration of the stewardship plan;

  (5) the costs associated with administration of the stewardship plan, including the costs of collection, management, and transportation of redeemed containers and the amount received for commodities;

  (6) a description of any improvements made in the reporting year to increase ease and convenience for consumers to return beverage containers for redemption;

  (7) efforts taken by or on behalf of the manufacturer or distributor to reduce environmental impacts throughout the product life cycle and to increase reusability or recyclability at the end of the life cycle by material type;

  (8) efforts taken by or on behalf of the producer responsibility organization to improve the environmental outcomes of the program by improving operational efficiency, such as reduction of truck trips through improved material handling or compaction or the increased use of refillable containers in a local refilling system;

  (9) a description and copies of educational materials and educational strategies the producer responsibility organization uses for the purposes of this program; and

  (10) any additional information required by the Secretary.

  (c) Review of stewardship plan.

  (1) Within 90 days after receipt of a plan submitted under this section, the Secretary shall review the plan and determine whether to approve the plan, deny the plan, or require an amendment to the plan. The Secretary may amend or add conditions to the plan as a part of the approval. The plan shall be approved after concluding that the plan meets the criteria established in this section and the elements of the plan will maximize diversion of recyclable materials, provide convenience to users, and create a more circular economy. If the plan is denied, the Secretary shall provide a basis for that denial and the producer responsibility organization shall submit a revised plan addressing these issues within 60 days following the notice of denial.

  (2) At least six months prior to the expiration of the plan, the producer responsibility organization shall submit a renewal to the stewardship plan. Renewals shall address all elements considered in the original plan and shall be considered in the same manner as an original plan. The Secretary shall issue a final determination on an application for renewal not later than 90 days before the expiration of the plan.

  (3) The Secretary’s approval pursuant to this subsection shall be for a period not greater than five years.

  (d) Plan implementation. The producer responsibility organization shall implement the approved plan on March 1, 2029.

  (e) Revision of stewardship goals. If the producer responsibility organization fails to meet the beverage container redemption rate in section 1534 of this title for all other beverage containers, the Secretary may require the producer responsibility organization to implement activities to enhance the rate of redemption, including additional public education and outreach, additional redemption sites, or additional redemption opportunities. (Added 2025, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2026; amended 2025, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. July 1, 2030.)